Matteau's coming around - on pace for 20 goals 20 assists per 80 games, which would be a good season. His shooting percentage is probably high for what he'll actually do, but it doesn't look like he's going to have a bad season, at least.

Albany dressed every single healthy player they had (Timmins, D. Zajac still out) and played with 7 D. They also had to bring up Artem Demkov from Elmira on a PTO just to have a full line up. Demkov was one of the invites to Albany's pre-season camp and has 10 goals, 2 assists, 64 shots, and 16 PIM in 17 games so far this year in the ECHL.

Albany defeated Springfield 6-4. Goal scorers for the Devils were Hrabarenka, Pelley, Matteau, Demkov, McKelvie, and Sislo. McKelvie and Hrabarenka also had an assist each and McKelvie completed a Gordie Howe hat trick while Hrabarenka had a game high 6 shots. They were the 1st and 3rd stars. Whitney and Hoeffel had 2 assists each. Kinkaid stopped 30 of 34 shots. Albany outshot Springfield 37-34, Albany was 1/6 on the PP, and 1/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

AHL
Albany defeated Bridgeport 8-6. Matteau and Sislo had 2 goals and an assist each, Sestito had a goal and 2 assists, Scarlett had a goal and an assist, and Boucher and McKelvie each had a goal. Wedgewood stopped 9 of 15 shots. Albany outshot Bridgeport 32-15, went 3/6 on the PP, and 2/3 on the PK. Matteau and Sislo were the top 2 stars. Here is the gamesheet. Highlights (goals and Hrabarenka shattering the glass!):

ECHL
Elmira defeated Cincinnati 2-1. Here is the gamesheet. Unfortunately, it looks like Maxime Clermont is the back up goaltender right now.

omg Hrabarenka at 3:06

Yeah, Wedgewood looked really shaky on a bunch of those goals. I hope he gets it together, because I always imagined him to be an NHL goaltender in the future.

It's cool to see Scarlett making a difference. I bet he's got a much bigger role with Merrill and Gelinas up with the NJ Devils.

Wedge is down to an .869 shooting%...but at least he wasn't drafted in the first two rounds.

Goalie drafting hasn't exactly been kind to the Devils since Marty established himself...J.F Damphousse was a first-rounder in 1997, Ari Ahonen was a first-rounder in 1999, and Frazee was a second-rounder in 2005. One of them (Damphousse) turned out to be a throw-in in the Friesen deal who played 294 NHL minutes, one never made it, and the other played 19 minutes in the NHL. This sh!t happens, not knocking Lou, but it's too bad that these guys were never able to contribute much, either on the ice or by potential trade value.

0

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

AHL
Albany had a 3-2 shootout win over Binghamton. Scoring for the Devils was Pesonen (PP, K. Zajac, Hrabarenka) and Sislo (PP, K. Zajac, Scarlett). Whitney and Demkov had the 2 shootout goals. Kinkaid stopped 37 of 39 shots and 4 of 5 shooters in the shootout to earn 1st star. Kelly Zajac was 3rd star. Binghamton outshot Albany 39-26, including 14-0 in overtime. Albany went 2/7 on the PP and 4/5 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

I legitimately thought that 14-0 was a misprint but he was named first star and it's stayed up like that, so I guess it was legit. Kinda can't believe he's only at .913 after a performance like that.

That's crazy outshot 14-0 in overtime! Kinkaid got a free meal out of that game for sure.

I think consistency is the reason his save % is only .913 (which is still pretty good). He had a hot stretch at the beginning of the year. Then he struggled for a couple weeks.

Albany is playing kind of like I wish the Devils were this year in that when the goaltending struggles they find a way to score goals and when the forwards don't have it, the goaltending keeps the alive. They are finding ways to win games even with injuries/callups.

I don't know when Rick Kowalsky's contract expires, but I could see him getting a shot somewhere in the NHL at least as an assistant if he wants it. Albany's record has improved each year he's been there and that looks like it will continue.

Albany defeated Bridgeport 3-0. Scoring for Albany was Scarlett (PP, Demkov, Whitney), Whitney (McPherson, Helgeson), and Hrabarenka (PP, Whitney, Burlon). Kinkaid stopped all 22 shots he faced and was 3rd star. Whitney and Scarlett were the 1st and 2nd stars. Albany outshot Bridgeport 31-22, went 2/6 on the PP, and 3/3 on the PK. Hrabarenka had a game high 5 shots. Here is the gamesheet.

Anyway, yeah, it will interesting to see if Kinkaid gets a look before 2014-15. Wedge's numbers are not good so far, but it's a long season.

0

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

Around here or in the organization? Around here obviously Wedgewood is more highly thought of because he was a draft pick and this makes him special. In the organization it's unclear but Kinkaid is getting more starts and NJ was fine with leaving Wedgewood in the ECHL all last year. Goaltending is unpredictable but most goalies with Wedgewood's pedigree do not become NHLers.